Conventional lathes having a spindle facing in a horizontal direction are generally of what is called a horizontal bed type in which a tool feeding shaft (X axis and Z axis) is located in a horizontal plane. In one lathe of the horizontal bed type (the Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Application Publication (Jikkai-Sho) No. 62-198032), a plurality of tool holders are arranged in the direction of the X axis. In this lathe, a cross slide that is a member constituting a base on which the tool holders are mounted is horizontally installed in a processing area, and the tool holders are fixed on the cross slide.
Where the cross slide is horizontally installed as in the case of the lathe in accordance with the Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Application Publication (Jikkai-Sho) No. 62-198032, chips generated during processing are likely to accumulate on the cross slide. The chips accumulated on the cross slide may affect the processing. Particularly in automated facilities, the accumulated chips may seriously affect processing accuracy and safety. To remove the chips accumulated on the cross slide, it is possible to provide a space opposite a spindle with reference to the cross slide so that the chips on the cross slide can be dropped in the space. For example, where the cross slide is provided in front of the spindle, the chip dropping space is provided in front of the cross slide. However, disadvantageously, the provision of the chip dropping space correspondingly increases the forward-backward dimension of the machine.